Safety belt



July 11, 1950 E. E. ALMY SAFETY BELT Filed May 12, 1947 nventor EUGENE E. ALMY Gttorneg Patented July 11, 1950 @UNITED sin'ri-:s zzPAfrENT .orties SAFETY BELT Eugene'E. Anny, Sherman `0aks,-"Calif. ApplicationfMay .172, 1mm-serial N0..747,51'5

E .110 Claims. .-l

.ihislisanrinvention lorga safety `fbelt forchilfdrengandlis :an `.improvement over `applicants inmention fas yexpressedin his Ypatent :application ,fled November Y6, `1946., bearing .-Serial `Number 708,066'fandfoi which this ,application .is `a continuation in part. This instant application dif- `fers ffrom thejformerfone sin that the :belt-is adinstable without the useof rough parts ithat may be a hazard ftoian. ini ant, ',andfmeans are i provided .idr -yentilatirigthe "belt,

One fof the principal objects .of .this invention is to provide `aqspecialadjustable belt Ameans `to ,secure an `infant inits crib, :but nevertheless, al-

flowing the infant .full freedom for .turning from side to side as well as completely around without .any :danger .of becoming twisted `in the bed @Clothes or `becoming trapped' ,beneath ythe `bed clothes. "The :invention :is bymo means limited f Other objectsladvantages and features of .my

invention will appear from the :accompanying drawings, the .-subjoined vdetailed description, lthe 4.preamble vof :these specications and .the :ap- .pendedclaims Applicantvis about mto illustrate and .describe 1oneref=the iorrns of hisfinvention Ain-order to teach .onahowto makeand use the fsame, ,but .it is to lbe understood that the drawings and description .thereofaai'eanot :to limitftheinventionfin any sense whatsoeverpexcept -as limited-by the `appended :cial-ms.

- L thefdrawings: v l

Fig. shows-the inventionasiapplied toa baby in alor-ib,` f 1 Fig; 2 ishowswthe :inventive belt in plan view and drawn to, alargescale.

2 application may beprovded with any-number of suitable fasteners .and auxiliary adaptations to .make itmore suitable forsome particular uses.

.The material employed maybe of any type and class which will provide thenecessary parts of the belt. Such material `may include pliable leather, any of a. numberof various `plastics and fabrics, andlaminated strong and l,pliable papers and thelike.

As shown. in Fig. 1, theLinvented'belt is dressed upon the upper torso portion of ababy,the main 'belt portion or girdle part l being supported or/'and positioned bythe straps or suspender-like bands'z and 3 Whichcross at the point il and may be provided Withadouble headed studto prevent displacementof the pivot point. The rear lends of Fig. 3 is a sectional part'of that shown in Fig. 2

and takensubstantially along the line 3-3 thereof,

Figa is another sectional-part of Fig. 2 and .taken substantially along theI wlined-4xthereoi,

Fig. 5 is an elevational view'foaetractional part of the invention, l Y

Fig. `6v is`l an elevational View. di a sliding element employed in the safety belt.

"The particular belt -deviceI illustrated in vthis formed las shown in Fig. 2 -of the drawings. rectangular shaped metal or plastic strapelement thestraps'are anchored'to the `belt lin any suit- `able way such ias sewing them securely between portions of the belt. Each 4forward end ofthe 'straps Yhas va 'plurality Aof holes -5 which are la'dapte'd'to receive the tongues of their respective buckles "6. yhe'buckles t are sewed or Aotherwise -rmly Jlixed 'to the top :portions of the belt :by Ishort straps 1, fas shown.

V'Ifhe 'main'body-of the belt lconsists -of .-an inner band SShaving the ends 9 and -Il -which .are ..doub1ed.baek on themselves, 4.the 'amount `of .fold depending-upon thedesired circumference of .the

belt, but for normal use the ends (and i0 are A I Ais provided fto hold the .band -folds in place. To prevent bandsweat,this `inner lband `8 is provlvid'ed-with ta pluralityof Ventilating -holes .I l,

These holes `.are positioned opposite Athe slot .I2

which is provided rby the slightly spaced apart upper A'and lower .outer bands .L3 and '14, .respectively. Theupperband .I3 is slightlyzspaoed from the innerV band Bfby-the top `spacer strips I5 vand I6 and'the lower Yband lid yis ,slightlyspaced from the inner band 8 by the spacer strip ll. These top spacer strips .extendfrom the short straps 1 Vto their respective rear shoulderstraps 2 or 3; a shortspacer strip IB being provided between the rear-endsof the shoulder straps. `spacer strip IJ is. asingle piece .and extends The lower around the rear portion ofthe belt from points just beneath the short straps 'l and other portions Where required. This construction provides a track having an upperand lower annular slide passage i9 and 2li, respectively; and these passages vare maintained 4inthe irontportion of the beltby the extended end portions '2| and 22 of the top outer band P3 nand the similar extended end portions 1-23iand 24 offthe'lower outer 'band T4.

The end portions 2| and 23 of these outer bands each have a strap slot 25 and they are wider than their respective other ends so that the end portions 22 and 2lican be passed through their respective slots 25 in the wider band portions. This construction of the outer bands in conjunction with the free ends 9 and III of the inner band makes it possible to shorten or lengthen the circumference of the girth portion of the belt so as to neatly fit the upper torso portions of an infant and allow for quite a variation in girth sizes, and this is done without destroying the continuity of the endless track or upper and lower passages I9 and 2|). Whenever the size is once set, the inner and outer bands are laced together by the upper and lower laces or strings 26 and 21. To accommodate the laces, the upper and lower edges of the end portions of the inner-band 8 are provided with holes 28 and 29. and each end portion of the outer bands is provided with alined holes to receive the lacing strings.

Within the passages I9 and 20 there are a plurality of removable sliding elements 3| which are disc-like and have side wings, fins, or ilanges 32 and 33 which neatly and snugly t within the passages so as to allow the extending body portion 34 to slide along the continuous slot I2 and completely circle the body of the wearer should each element 3| be fastened by a cord, for instance, by the cord 35 to any suitable side portion of a crib or bed. Each element has an elongated opening 35 so that cords can be securely tied thereto, or a safety pin passed therethrough for fastening one of the elements to the top end of the bed clothes as indicated at 36 in Fig. 1. This construction allows an infant to rotate in its crib and turn completely around without in any way disturbing the bed clothes. and it prevents the infant from becoming trapped under the bed clothes. Note', that the top and bottomfsurfaces of the fins 32 and 33 are slightly bowed'tov provide a gentle arc that rides freely within the curved track or passages I9 and 2D. Also note,

that the sliding elements 3| are removable from their track bv bending the bands I 3 and I4 from the rear band 8, but these elements cannot be removed easily without bending away the outer bands I3 and I4.

Any number of suitably xed rings 31 may be provided along the top or bottom edges of the belt for the obvious use of providing a leash etc.

It is, of course, understood that various changes and modifications may be made in the details of form. style, design and construction of the whole or any part of the specifically described embodiment of this invention without departing from the spirit thereof. such changes and modifications being restricted only by the limitations clearly expressed in the following claims.

I claim:

l. In a safety belt and the like for infants and others, a girdle having shoulder straps` for hold-` ing it un in proper position upon an infants body, an endless kannular track in the girdle having an open slot, slide elements in the slot comprising a thin Vbody portion with lateral extending fins which ride in the track, and means on the body portion for attaching things thereto.

2. In a belt device comprising a girdle withan inner band having spaced apart outer bands fixed to the inner band to form an endless track and slot means circumflexing the inner band, a plurality of slide elements in the track, and tongue and lacing means for adjusting the circumference v Number of the girdle and maintaining the endless track for said slide elements. i

3. In a belt adapted to encircle a persons body, the belt comprising a girdle having an inner` band and a pair of outer bands spaced therefrom and from each other, the inner band having a pair of free ends adapted to be folded back on themselves, a plurality of lacing openings in the front portions of the inner band, each of said outer bands having apair of free ends which lap over each other, a plurality of lacing openings in the front portions of'the outer bands, and lacing means passing through the lacing openings.

4. In a safety belt for persons, the belt comprising a girdle with an inner band and a pair of outer bands spaced from the inner band and from leach other to provide an annular slot, means spacing the outer bands from the inner band to provide an upper and a lower circular passage way, said outer bands and inner band having free ends so that each band can be individually adjusted as to girth, a plurality of lacing means for fastening the outer bands to the inner band, a sliding element having side wings which ride in said passage Ways, the element having a protruding portion extending through the slot.

5. The belt recited in claim 4 wherein the sliding element has its wings slightly curved so as to better slide in the circular passage ways.

6. The belt recited in claim 4 wherein the inner band is provided with a row of Ventilating openings in registration with the slot.

'7. The belt recited in claim 4 wherein the inner band has means allowing each end thereof to fold back upon'itself.

8. In a safety device for children, a belt having shoulder strap means for holding it to the upper portion of a childs body, an annular channelway in the belt having a slot opening onto the outer side thereof, a plurality of slidable disclike elements in the channelway having means thereon for fastening a cord.

9. In a safety belt device for children comprising an annular belt with suspender-like straps to holdit in position upon a childs body, an annular channel in the belt having an open slot, and a plurality of slidable elements within the channel, each of said elements having a stem which extends through the slot and is equipped with eye means for making connection with a cord.

10. In a device for safely holding a child in its crib and `for keeping bed clothes in position, the device comprising a belt-like band having an inner member which encircles the child and a pair of spaced apart outer members which are joined to the outer edges of the inner member and which together forman annular endless slot, an annular chamber lbetween the inner and outer members which opens to `the slot along its entire length, a plurality of sliding elements in the chamber having outwardly directed stems which project through the'slot and are exposed forl fastening cords to the ends thereof, and strap means attached to and extending upwardly from the belt for passing over the wearers shoulders.

EUGENE E. ALMY.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file o f this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS v Name n Date 312,045 ,Claghorn Feb. 10, 1885 1,697,363 Losey Jan. l, 1929 

